With nine of the top 10 rushers in the Sun Belt returning this year, some are predicting the Year of the Ground Game in the conference.

Adam Sparks of the Murfreesboro Daily News wrote this article about how running backs could dominate that Belt.

FAU’s Alfred Morris returns and will try and keep his title as top rusher in the Belt.

I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Morris is the best running back in FAU history.
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Morris scores one of his 11 TDs, this one against Arkansas State
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Yeah, he hasn’t accumulated the career numbers just yet, but last year he blew past Charles Pierre for the single-season rushing record (1,392 for Morris in 12 games, 1,014 for Pierre in 13 in 2008).

He also is now first in single-season categories of attempts (236); touchdowns (11); and average per game (116).

His 1,415 total career yards (Morris gained 23 yards on 7 attempts in 2008 as a redshirt freshman fullback) puts him third on the all-time list, behind Pierre (3,089) and Doug Parker (1,981), and he is also first in career yards per carry average (5.8).

I think Morris will be hard-pressed to repeat those numbers, given the new line in front of him and lack of other proven weapons on offense.

I figure he will be closer to 1,000 yards this season, but that will move him to second in the career list and well within range of taking over as the career leader early in his senior season.

BUS RIDES

Speaking of the Blue Raiders, they are getting ahead of the curve, announcing three bus trips to away games this year.
http://blueraiders.dnj.com/article/20100729/BLUERAIDERS01/7290316/0/BLUERAIDERS01/MTSU-offering-bus-trip-to-three-road-games

FAU has had some bus trips, but they seem to be spur of the moment. They should consider offering bus rides to Tampa for the South Florida game, and at least two home games – FIU and Troy.

FINE PERFORMANCE AT FENWAY

Update: Owls (or should I say Blue Wave?) pitcher R.J. Alvarez, who is spending the summer playing in the Cape Cod League, had a nice performance in the All-Star game played at Fenway Wednesday night.

Alvarez was one of nine West Division pitchers who combined to shut out the East in a 5-0 win.

Each West hurler went one inning, with Alvarez pitching the eighth. He did not allow a hit and struck out two, most of any West pitcher, and tied with one East pitcher for the game high.

Comments

Replacing the logo with actual text on the blog improves search engine optimization of the blog and it also most likely has something to do with the new blog platform they are using now. It should still have the FAU logo though. They should keep the headline text at the top and then put an FAU banner/logo under it with an alt tag for Florida Atlantic on it. Sorry to get Marketing dorky on you but that is most likely the answer to your question :)

I hope our old Willie Rose is able to heal and show out for the Titans. They opened Training Camp today with Willie on the PUP list. He has a good shot at staying on the roster for the season if he can get in there and impress some more.

Morris should do fine with a slight change in offensive play-calling philosophy. With an inexperienced line, "Quick hitters" into the line should be called instead of the currently popular deep handoffs. The quick pops seemed to work during the Spring game. With quick pops into the line, the linemen don't have to hold their blocks as long and the defense has less time to react. Change the play calling to minimize the weak spots and max what we do have.

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About the author

DIETER KURTENBACH a Chicago native and 2010 Missouri School of Journalism graduate, has covered Missouri Tigers athletics for KCOU radio and the Columbia Missourian, Major League Soccer for Comcast SportsNet-Chicago, and lunch orders for ESPN Radio-Chicago. Kurtenbach was part of the Missourian team that earned first place in "Breaking News" at the 2010 Associated Press Sports Editors awards, but his real passion is his constant quest to find the world’s best sandwich – if you have a tip, don’t hesitate to send it his way.